Kevin Aanerud, Todd Hass, Ryan Merrill, Adam Sedgley, and Michael WillisonJoined part of the time by Don & Sandi McVay, and Randy Bjorklund

We went on a Holland America cruise from Long Beach to Vancouver which included two days offshore. The sold-out ship was the 780-foot, 1,380-passenger MS Amsterdam. Seas were quite rough the first day, with 18-27 foot swells and 35+kt winds. Many on the ship were sick, but the birding, for those of us who were able, was wonderful. With the conditions and layout of the ship, our group-size worked well. It would have been difficult to find a calm viewpoint with many more people, though in calmer conditions it wouldn’t be an issue. Viewing was from 60-80 feet above sea level with binoculars and telescopes.

We completed consecutive 20-minute surveys during daylight hours of the two days spent offshore. On Day One we were 30-45 miles offshore, from San Luis Obispo to Point Arena. On Day Two we were 30-60 miles offshore, from southern Oregon to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. The transect data will be entered into eBird for anyone who is interested in more specific locations of the birds. Documentation of review species will be sent to the appropriate committees.

Two day totals:

Greater Scaup – 3Pacific Loon – 2Laysan Albatross – 1 – Lane County, ORBlack-footed Albatross – 53Northern Fulmar – 52Murphy’s Petrel – 61 – mostly off OR but seen in all three states. They generally approached the ship more closely than the Cook’s Petrels did. The white chin was seen on many of them, as was the prominent M pattern on the back and the silvery under-wing flash that extended up the trailing edge of the wing toward the secondaries.Dark Pterodroma sp. – 10, two were not Murphy’s but neither was identified to species. One “menacing”, “big-boned” bird off CA we watched for 15+ seconds while it soared 60-100 feet above sea level, it was amazing to watch despite not knowing its identity, and the only bird we saw above the horizon line the entire first day. The other was off OR and bulkier than Murphy’s, but other than being quite dark, no plumage characteristics were seen despite watching for several arcs.Mottled Petrel – 2, Grays Harbor County, WA, Kevin, Todd & Adam saw.Cook’s Petrel – 232 – the first, last, and most abundant species of the first day. Seen on every twenty-minute transect!Hawaiian/Galapagos (Dark-rumped) Petrel – 2 – CA, one seen fairly well by all and identified as such in the field. The other was observed as a large white-bellied, dark-backed gadfly petrel – distant photos of it show coloration consistent with Hawaiian/Galapagos including dark cap and nape.White-bellied Pterodroma sp. – 2 – large, consistent with HawaiianPink-footed Shearwater – 26Sooty Shearwater – 195Short-tailed Shearwater – 3 – OR & WAWhite-bellied tubenose sp. – 6 – three were possible Manx ShearwatersDark tubenose sp. – 7Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel – 45 – 40 were in a raft at dusk off WALeach’s Storm-Petrel – 363 – all but 4 were off OR & WAAshy Storm-Petrel – 2 – Dark-rumped storm-petrels that appeared to be this species. Ryan saw the first one close and well for 5+ seconds. Kevin saw the second briefly but well, while Todd, Adam, and Ryan just glimpsed this bird. Both Grays Harbor County, WARed-necked Phalarope – 6Red Phalarope – 1732Phalarope sp. – 82California Gull – 2Herring Gull – 5Western Gull – 41Glaucous-winged Gull – 1Gull sp. – 18Sabine’s Gull – 322Arctic Tern – 13Pomarine Jaeger – 7Parasitic Jaeger – 8Long-tailed Jaeger – 19Jaeger sp. – 7Common Murre – 4Cassin’s Auklet – 72Parakeet Auklet – 26 – CA, OR & WARhinocerous Auklet – 176Tufted Puffin – 4 – CA & WAAlcid sp. – 46 – 20 were likely Parakeets, 9 were likely Rhinos